THERE is no more lonely place in to be in the world than being on the pitch at the end of an England game when you have made a massive mistake.

My heart went out to Robert Green on Saturday when he made that error against the United States because I know exactly how it feels; 10 years have passed since I gave a penalty away which led to England being knocked out of Euro 2000 and I’ll never forget that pain.

You will know the incident. It happened in the final minute of the final group game with Romania and, in a strange way, I remember that moment better than some of the great things I have experienced in my career.

Fortunately for Rob, his mistake happened in the first half of England’s first game and he went some way to redeeming himself after the break with a stop from Jozy Altidore that could, in time, prove to be so crucial – it might just mean we win Group C.

But, as far as some people are concerned, what happened means they can give Rob as much stick as they want. Quite frankly, it is scandalous. What gives certain individuals the right to analyse his private life because he fumbled one shot? They have gone too far.

It remains to be seen what Fabio Capello will do tomorrow night against Algeria but, given the fact he has started nine of the last 12 games, to my mind he is England’s number one and he will be desperate to show what happened in Rustenberg was just a blip.

Equally, I’m surprised there has been such uproar about the performance in general against the USA; true, the result was frustrating but Steven Gerrard led by example, Emile Heskey was selfless, while I also thought Glen Johnson was outstanding.

Blaming Capello for not naming his starting line-up until two hours before kick-off is also nonsense; the majority of managers all around the world do likewise and there is no way the players will have been unsettled by it.

Managers don’t broadcast their team because they don’t want the opposition finding out, something that is almost inevitable if you do it 48 hours before – someone, somewhere will always speak to a friend or an agent and, before you know, it is common knowledge.

This is no point to start worrying about the manager; his record speaks for itself and I will put my life on England beating Algeria and Slovenia to get through to the knockout stages. What’s more, there was no disgrace in drawing with the USA.

The opening game was always going to be the most perilous – the USA had been waiting their whole lives for it – and once the players get fully attuned to the conditions, the rhythm that was missing in Rustenberg will return.

Of course, if England were to get knocked out things would change but now is the time to put your trust in Capello rather than looking for scapegoats.